VZCZCXRO1134
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHTV #2308/01 2821110
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081110Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8741
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0456

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 002308 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KNNP IR KPAL IS
SUBJECT: MFA CONFERENCE PROVIDES PLATFORM FOR LIVNI 
 
REF: TEL AVIV 2252 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  Foreign Minister Livni used the MFA's 
first annual policy and strategy conference as a platform to 
elucidate her cautious approach to peace negotiations, 
stressing her views that negotiations must be grounded in 
political reality, should not be accelerated to accommodate 
political calendars, and that negotiations with Palestinian 
pragmatists will continue in parallel with Israeli efforts to 
combat extremists.  Sounding a frequently-heard theme here, 
Livni called for the international community to apply 
stronger pressure on Iran in order to avert the need for 
military action.  Other speakers included Palestinian 
Authority Foreign Minister Al Malki, French Foreign Minister 
Kouchner, and former German Foreign Minister Fischer.  Al 
Malki stressed Palestinian disappointment that "promises" 
made at Annapolis to achieve a peace agreement by the end of 
the year had not been achieved and criticized continued 
building of Israeli settlements as a violation of Roadmap 
commitments, but he also underscored the PA's determination 
to continue the negotiations.  Kouchner and Fischer both 
stressed Europe's moral commitment to Israel's survival as a 
Jewish, democratic state, urged Israel and the PA to complete 
their negotiations, and condemned Ahmadinejad's anti-Semitic 
rhetoric.  In a subsequent panel discussion, former Mossad 
Director Efraim Halevy and former policy adviser to Netanyahu 
Uzi Arad suggested that the multiple crises facing Israel and 
the world require more effective multilateral efforts, 
including outside the framework of ineffective existing 
institutions.  Their comments were indicative of the Israeli 
policy community,s focus on Iran and the possible use of 
military force.  In a hierarchy of international threats and 
opportunities, those of the Middle East are at the top, they 
said, and Israel must play a role in the ad hoc coalitions 
formed to confront those threats.  End Summary. 
 
MFA Conference a Platform for Livni 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  (U) MFA Director General Aaron Abramovich convened what 
was billed as the Ministry's first annual conference for 
policy and strategy October 5-7.  The MFA invited a number of 
prominent foreign officials to address the October 5 opening 
session, while the following two days were devoted to 
in-house panels on a broad range of policy agendas.  The 
purpose of the conference, as described by Senior Deputy 
Director General Yossi Gal, is to increase the MFA's 
influence within the GOI's policy formulation process.  The 
conference will produce an MFA paper assessing Israel's 
foreign and national security policies that will be 
distributed to the security cabinet and key Knesset members. 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Foreign Minister Livni used her address to the 
conference -- her first public speech since winning the 
Kadima primaries and being designated by President Peres to 
form a new government -- as an opportunity to stake out a 
tougher stance toward negotiations than that offered by PM 
Olmert in his Rosh Ha-Shana interview with Yediot Aharonot 
(reftel).  Livni directed her comments both to the 
international community and to the complaints made by PA 
Foreign Minister Al Malki, all the while playing to an 
Israeli domestic audience. 
 
¶4.  (U) Livni made the following key points: 
 
-- Negotiations are in Israel's interest.  Those within 
Israel who criticize the peace process must propose an 
alternative.  Israel is a Jewish, democratic state seeking to 
live in peace with its neighbors.  It is also an integral 
part of the community of democracies with which it shares 
values. 
 
-- Iran is not just Israel or the Middle East's problem, it 
is a problem for the entire international community, and it 
must be handled at the international level.  Resolving the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict has nothing to do with the 
struggle against Iran.  While the world understands the 
threat posed by Iran, there is not yet sufficient action to 
deal with that threat.  Only by combining the threat of force 
with political and economic sanctions can the international 
community compel Iran to change course and thus avert the 
need to use force in the future. 
 
-- We have passed the stage at which Israel should have to 
prove its desire for peace; it seeks peace and normalization 
with all the Arab countries.  Peace is not just a matter of 
Israel deciding which concessions to make, it is also a 
matter of handling the process wisely. 
 
-- Peace cannot be a dream, it must be grounded in reality. 
 
TEL AVIV 00002308  002 OF 003 
 
 
Palestinians must accept that violence and terrorism will not 
achieve their goals.  The work begun at Annapolis must 
continue.  Its goal is an end to the conflict based on the 
principle of two national states for two peoples.   A 
Palestinian state is also Israel's goal provided that its 
establishment means the end of the conflict and the full 
realization of Palestinian national aspirations.    Israelis, 
Palestinians, and the international community cannot have an 
interest in the establishment of a failed state or an 
extremist state. 
 
-- Political calendars and transitions should not stand in 
the way.  The negotiations should not cease but neither 
should they be brought to a partial or premature conclusion. 
The rules agreed to at Annapolis remain in effect:  nothing 
is agreed until everything is agreed. 
 
-- The Arab world has a key role to play in acting to support 
Palestinian moderates and delegitimize extremists. 
 
The Palestinian Authority's View 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) PA Foreign Minister Riad Al Malki spoke before Livni. 
 In what must have been the first official address by a 
Palestinian official inside the MFA headquarters at least 
since the heyday of the Oslo process, Malki said the 
Palestinians had believed in promises made at Annapolis that 
they would achieve a peace agreement by the end of 2008.  Now 
it is October, and Palestinians are losing hope. 
 
--  Settlement activity is increasing in total violation of 
the Annapolis conference principles, but at the same time, 
the PA and GOI have developed excellent relations at the 
political and security levels.  Not enough has been done to 
implement the first phase of the Roadmap.  No party should be 
allowed to run away from its Roadmap obligations. 
 
-- The PA remains committed to negotiations, but the 
Palestinian public expects results.  The Arab world is 
putting pressure on the PA due to the expansion of 
settlements and the perception of a lack of results, and 
Hamas exploits that perception as well. 
 
-- Peace is still possible.  President Abbas remains 
committed to the two-state solution.  A Palestinian state is 
the best guarantee of Israel's security.  The remaining 
months of 2008 are important.  Palestinians want to assume 
full security responsibility in the territories under their 
control, while also implementing economic development 
projects and enhancing the justice system and rule of law. 
-- Political uncertainty is high.  There are big differences 
between the U.S. presidential candidates with regard to the 
peace process.  Livni's efforts to form a government will 
hopefully succeed since this would provide continuity. 
Hopefully the intra-Palestinian dialogue will succeed and 
lead to the return of Gaza to PA control. 
 
European Friends of Israel 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and former 
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer emphasized Europe's 
moral commitment to Israel's survival as a democratic, Jewish 
state as well as their support for a two-state solution. 
Kouchner called Israel "a modern miracle," said France stood 
at Israel's side in its war on terrorism,  condemned the 
"intolerable" words of President Ahmadinejad, and called Iran 
a danger for the entire international system.  France will 
continue to work with its partners to move to a dialogue with 
Iran if Iran honors its international commitments. 
 
¶7.  (U) Fischer said he would never forget Germany's 
responsibility for the Holocaust.  A more multi-polar world 
is emerging, and the impact of the international financial 
crisis will be far-reaching for Russia as well as for the 
U.S. and Europe.  Iran is not a superpower when its economic 
and social characteristics are considered, but it does seek 
regional hegemony.  Fischer advocated a "realistic approach" 
to Iran based on an accurate understanding of Iran's internal 
dynamics.  Fischer echoed Kouchner in rejecting Ahmadinejad's 
anti-Semitic rhetoric.  Russia must be included in the 
development of stronger sanctions on Iran, and therefore the 
West should reconsider its "post-Georgia priorities." 
Fischer said Israeli-Syria negotiations could "change the 
parameters in the region" since Iran would be completely 
isolated without Syria.  Engaging Syria and Iran would also 
be necessary as the U.S. seeks to end its involvement in 
Iraq.  While expressing understanding of the complicated 
politics on both sides, Fischer said the effort to achieve a 
two-state solution must continue.  Speaking as a "friend of 
 
TEL AVIV 00002308  003 OF 003 
 
 
Israel," Fischer said he found the idea of the two-state 
option fading away to be frightening. 
Israeli Ideas for Confronting Iran 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The opening speeches were followed by a panel 
discussion in which the Ambassador participated.  The theme 
of the panel discussion was "Challenges to Diplomacy in the 
21st Century," and led off with retired Ambassador Oded Eran 
asking whether diplomacy remains relevant to addressing the 
world's critical issues.  Comments by former Mossad Director 
Efraim Halevy and former Mossad operative and policy adviser 
to Bibi Netanyahu Uzi Arad were indicative of the Israeli 
policy community's focus on the Iranian threat. 
 
¶9.  (U)  Arad said the world appears to be drifting toward a 
major international crisis.  From an Israeli perspective, the 
combination of the proliferation of WMD, terrorism, and the 
challenge to the West by radical Islam has a multiplier 
effect, especially when combined with high oil prices. 
Meanwhile, the multilateral architecture established by the 
U.S. after World War II is failing.  Arad pointed to the 
IAEA's failure to deal with Iran's nuclear program as an 
example.  The prudent course of action requires dropping 
outmoded concepts such as the inviolability of national 
sovereignty, getting our priorities right, as well as strong 
leadership.  Arad said the alternative multilateral system is 
likely to involve an alliance of democracies and/or 
coalitions of the willing rather than the "severely 
inadequate" multilateral institutions. 
 
¶10.  (U) Halevy also noted that "cajoling and threatening" 
Iran has thus far had little result.  Halevy commented that 
the current world order may be "on the brink of the abyss," 
since Kissinger described a nuclearized world as 
"uncontrollable."  In prioritizing the threats and 
opportunities facing the world, those of the Middle East 
stand at the top.  Halevy said that ad hoc coalitions are 
needed to fight the gravest threats.  Israel is both a major 
player in the Middle East and a junior partner in the 
community of democracies.  Despite all the talk about a 
military solution to the Iranian threat, a political solution 
is still preferable.  Israel must be a partner in the 
international effort to deal with Iran, Halevy said, adding 
that Israel has assets that ensure it a place at the table. 
 
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